"TeleSage is the pioneer in bringing affordable IVR and
web solutions to the healthcare community... TeleSage has followed
through on its commitment to excellence and is now helping to usher
in a new era in healthcare data collection."
-- Computers in Mental Health

2005-2007National Institute of Mental Health and National Institutes of Health -
Phase II Small Business Innovation Research Grant

On August 15, 2005, the National Institute of Mental Health
(NIMH) and the National Institutes of Health (NIH) awarded
TeleSage approximately $675,000 to continue development of a computerized
adaptive test (CAT) survey for use in mental health services
research. Based on item response theory (IRT), the instrument will assess
levels of depression, anxiety, social functioning, and role
functioning in mental health clients via touch-screen or hand-held
computer or SmartQ automated telephone survey. The final CAT instrument will
have applications in mental health care, primary care, health services
research, and clinical research.

2005-2007National Institute on Drug Abuse and National Institutes of Health
- Phase II Small Business Innovative Research Grant

On April 28, 2005, the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) and
the National Institutes of Health (NIH) awarded TeleSage
approximately $750,000 to conduct a study on the use of
outcomes tracking in adolescent substance abuse treatment.
This Phase Two study will assess whether longitudinal
assessments, using the Teen-Addiction Severity Index and
feedback reports, with
referrals, improve clinical outcomes and process indicators for
adolescents in treatment for substance abuse. As part of the study,
TeleSage will develop a suite of web-based software products
that will allow substance abuse treatment clinics to create customized
outcomes tracking for their clients via a Web Portal. The final software
products will have applications in adolescent addiction and substance
abuse treatment nationwide.

2003-2005National Institute on Drug Abuse-Small Business Innovative
Research Grant

This Phase Two competitive renewal grant will enable TeleSage
to evaluate the performance of automated feedback from the
Addiction Severity Index (ASI) in a multi-site, multi-state
randomized study. In a previous grant, TeleSage developed
automated self-report versions of the ASI capable of both
intake and follow-up assessments using both eQ Internet and
interactive voice response (IVR) telephone technologies.
Now, their use in clinical situations will be examined to
determine if automated self-report surveys and reports improve
patient outcomes. TeleSage aims to improve the efficacy of clinical
interviews, engage patients in their own care, and help
substance abuse clinics comply with state mandates to track
outcomes - all with reduced staff time and lower costs.

2002-2003National Institute of Mental Heath - Small Business Innovative
Research Grant

TeleSage, in partnership with Kaiser Permanente, developed and tested
the first Item Response
Theory-based instrument in mental health. With IRT, a complex
and innovative mathematical process that uses branching logic,
a patient's previous answers in the survey determine what the
next question will be. IRT has recently become popular in
educational assessment but has never before been used in
mental health. The new instrument screened for four
domains (depression, anxiety, interpersonal functioning, and
occupational functioning) in less than six minutes.
This IRT-based instrument will provide a
low-cost, brief, but comprehensive screening and outcomes
tracking assessment tool for primary care, mental health, and
research settings.

2002-2003National Institute on Drug Abuse - Small Business Innovative
Research Grant

This grant enabled TeleSage to develop new
automated versions of the Teen-Addiction Severity
Index, or T-ASI. In association with Sundown Ranch, TeleSage
conducted a randomized trial of 130 adolescent subjects
in a residential clinical setting. The results
validated a SmartQ automated telephone
and eQ Internet versions of the T-ASI. TeleSage reached its goal
of enhancing the T-ASI's clinical and research utility as
well as patient acceptability.

2002National Institute on Drug Abuse - Small Business Innovative
Research Grant

With the help of this generous grant, TeleSage successfully
developed SmartQ automated telephone
and eQ Internet versions of the most widely
used instrument in substance abuse treatment: the Addiction
Severity Index, or ASI. With the partnership of Swedish
Medical Center, TeleSage conducted randomized trials of adult
and geriatric subjects in clinical settings. The new automated
versions of the ASI demonstrated the potential to improve
addiction management and outcomes tracking across the country.

"The well-designed GUI is easy to learn and use, and makes
it an absolute breeze to create simple phone-in surveys.
The documentation that comes with the system includes
step-by-step instructions, as well as good examples, that
help you design, implement, and manage your surveys. We were
very pleased with the performance of this product - no failures
detected during the entire 32,000 call tests we performed.
Excellent!

"We would recommend this product for businesses that want to
implement a phone-in survey system, but might have previously
been unable to do so because of the cost of systems targeting larger
businesses."

2000-2001National Institute of Mental Health - Small Business Innovative
Research Grant

A multi-site randomized trial and the partnership of United
Behavioral Health enabled TeleSage to demonstrate that SmartQ
IVR software can be used to improve
mental health care delivery. In this first clinical trial of
IVR-based longitudinal symptom monitoring via IVR, automated faxed feedback
increased the overall efficiency of monitoring patient progress.
The study tested whether use of IVR and faxed reports improved patients' clinical
and functional outcomes. Approximately 1,375 volunteers from a
large and varied, commercially-insured patient population
completed up to three similar IVR-administered
questionnaires in two cohorts. The patients'
clinicians and their care managers received reports either immediately via
fax or at the end of the six-month study period.

1998-1999National Institute of Mental Health - Small Business Innovative
Research Grant

To improve the quality and efficiency of mental health
screening and outcomes assessment, TeleSage built and tested a
standardized and affordable Interactive Voice Response (IVR)
system. The study evaluated both the acceptance of telephone surveys among mental health
patients in a bilingual context and the utility of reports for
clinicians.